This is a short speed art video summarizing the entire process of portrait editing in photoshop. I created it to help with navigation through 5.5h long video tutorial series that are have split into parts 1 to 5. Quick guide video is only 8min long and includes captions that denote most of the actions I have performed during editing. The full length tutorial has a slow pace and a lot of explanatory talk, so it should be very comprehensive, given you have enough patience and determination to listen to me for nearly 6h. I covered steps even before any editing begins, and that is how do I pick a photo for editing. I am comparing a few images and discussing various issues and problem areas. I then talk briefly about achieving a perfect skin tone / white balance in portrait photography, perform rough editing in Adobe Camera RAW, and then I jump into photoshop. Inside photoshop I first assess issues in the photo, minor composition problems and visual distractions, and then I go ahead and start skin editing on a macro scale. Next I split textures and tones (frequency separation) and show you how to edit a portrait without damaging the skin or lowering the image quality. The tutorial will lead you through skin, lips, eyes, hair, skin retouch, matching skin tones, removing skin discolorations, hand drawing eyebrows, halos, blurred shadows, texture grafting, smoothing skin shadow transitions, dodging and burning or macro and micro scale, toning, black and white conversion, some photoshop plugins and how to use them creatively and more. The most important thing is, that this is a free photoshop tutorial series that should allow you to master some of the most advanced photo editing techniques. It is impossible to share it all, even in a few hours long video, but nonetheless you can see a full on in-depth portrait photo retouch in photoshop.

Private photoshop workshops via skype - http://www.ryuurui.com/photo-retouching-lessons.html
My portrait photography service, Tokyo - website
http://www.portrait-photography-tokyo.com/
Photography workshops in Tokyo: http://www.ryuurui.com/photography-workshops.html
Hire a photographer in Tokyo: http://www.ryuurui.com/hire-a-photographer-in-tokyo.html
Photo blog: http://www.japan-in-photography.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ponteryuurui
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PonteRyuurui
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+PonteRyuurui/posts

For more tutorials and how to videos check out my photoshop and photography tips and tricks YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEOVGZ2rpLhR7gSPvaexxxQ

Street photography is based on two elements: a moment or mood, which is the kinetic part, and the environment or scenery, which is often very static and forms a structure, sort of a framing, to which all the strings are attached. Even the most emotional or candid street photography must have some sort of static reference to bring balance into the composition. However, what is static and what is kinetic does not have to be so clearly defined. If you look at the photograph below, you will notice several things. There is a dialogue between certain elements that create balanced composition. The tree to the right is quite heavy visually, but it is introduces intimacy into the photo. The diagonal branches and deep shadows create an illusion of a shelter. The shoe, the guy the second tree behind the car and the car itself create an off weight to that tree. All photo elements are static. The guy sitting upright like in a church, the trees, no wind, even the car seems static and that is because we can only see the rooftop. Stillness is further emphasized by parallel horizontal straight lines running across the photo from top to bottom. From the shadows on the ground, wood planks the bench is made of, folds and layers of dissipating horizon and so on. The shoe also suggests a pause. Hard sunlight adds warmth and sensation of relaxation. The kinetic element of this photo is indirect. It is hidden inside knowledge of the viewer that this guy is on a short break outside the office. He is taking a breather and will soon rush back to work. This is Tokyo, there is no such thing as rest here. To be able to capture great street photos you not only have to learn how to see photos in your surroundings, be able to predict what is about to happen (things happen in patterns in real life), but also be very patient. Patience is a sign of certainty. People do not wait for no reason. You find a great spot, and you know that there is a photo about to happen, and you know what you are waiting for. That skill of envisioning images is so important, especially if you wish to venture deeper into the realm of photo retouching. All those elements are interconnected.

Private photoshop workshops via skype - http://www.ryuurui.com/photo-retouching-lessons.html
My portrait photography service, Tokyo - website
http://www.portrait-photography-tokyo.com/
Photography workshops in Tokyo: http://www.ryuurui.com/photography-workshops.html
Hire a photographer in Tokyo: http://www.ryuurui.com/hire-a-photographer-in-tokyo.html
Photo blog: http://www.japan-in-photography.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ponteryuurui
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PonteRyuurui
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+PonteRyuurui/posts

For more tutorials and how to videos check out my photoshop and photography tips and tricks YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEOVGZ2rpLhR7gSPvaexxxQ

There is a huge difference between being limited by your knowledge and limited by your creativity. By mastering photoshop and the art of photo retouching you can literally do anything you want with any photo. In this video I am rearranging hard sunlight shadows, removing them from places I do not want them in and creating new highlights in their place. I also changed the photo composition by cloning a bit of hair to cover a part of the model's chin, to make her appear a bit more mysterious and delicate. By doing so I also redirected the attention to the upper part of the face. Sometimes you capture an amazing body language in your photo, and there are few elements that ruin the impact it could have if they were removed. The art of photo editing is a massive knowledge and a rare one too. Not many photographers can do it well, and lots of them outsources their editing. If you really want to produce your own photography art, that goes along with your vision from the moments you press the shutter to posting the image on your folio, then knowledge of photoshop or any other professional software for photo retouching is a must. Painters create their images in layers, it sometimes takes weeks or months. Why would photography be any different? If the only thing you can do is capturing images, then you are missing on half the fun!

Private photoshop workshops via skype - http://www.ryuurui.com/photo-retouching-lessons.html
My portrait photography service, Tokyo - website
http://www.portrait-photography-tokyo.com/
Photography workshops in Tokyo: http://www.ryuurui.com/photography-workshops.html
Hire a photographer in Tokyo: http://www.ryuurui.com/hire-a-photographer-in-tokyo.html
Photo blog: http://www.japan-in-photography.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ponteryuurui
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PonteRyuurui
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+PonteRyuurui/posts
 
For more tutorials and how to videos check out my photoshop and photography tips and tricks YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEOVGZ2rpLhR7gSPvaexxxQ

This is a complete guide to high-end portrait editing in photoshop, aimed at photographers and anyone who is into photo retouching. The entire tutorial is split into 5 parts (part 5 is still in production and will be released later on this week). I cover a lot of material and the whole thing is about 5h long. I will show you not only how to use photoshop tools and various techniques to create stunning portraits, but also explain how to choose photos for editing before you even start to work on one. Portraiture photography is all about natural and balanced body language and great lighting. If you have those two components checked, the rest is fixable in photoshop. There is no such thing as a perfect photo, and it is not even about creating one in photoshop. Far from it. But in the era of digital photography and RAW files with flat contrast, no saturation, it is essential that you know how to edit your images, regardless how far you want to push them. Now there are many ways of editing, some are lazy, like sliding a few adjustments in Lightroom for the whole batch of photos, or going deep and detailed down to a pixel level in photoshop. I do not know about you, but when I am done with a photo, it can be printed into a huge poster, I dont care, because i know how detailed I am in my editing. I often work on 300-400% zoom to make sure that the skin texture and skin pores are not being damaged. That the tone transition is smooth and pleasing. That I do not have any skin blotches or nasty color shifts (usually red, yellow or cyan). That I have good contrast in my image. That the toning and finishing touches match the mood of the image. The list goes on. Photo editing is an art, and takes time and a lot of patience. It is a blend of technical knowledge, vision and artistic sensitivity that guides you from start to finish. I hope this video tutorial series on how to edit a portrait in photoshop will help you realize how important is the knowledge of photo editing, regardless of what type of photography you are into. (You can find part 2,3,4 on my YouTube channel)

My Youtube channel with free photoshop tutorials
Photography workshops in Tokyo - click for more details.
Hire a photographer in Tokyo
Buy original Chinese and Japanese calligraphy art
Check out my new portrait photography services in Tokyo website!

So what do you do when you have two portraits that you would like to edit, you really like both of them but none is actually perfect. You take the elements from both and composite them into one image in photoshop. We had lots of fun with Diana during our recent photo shoots, and I came back with many great portraits. I sat down yesterday to do some more editing and could not decide between two portraits. I love both of them, the lighting, the body language, the composition, and so on, but each of those photos had small issues. You may not notice this if I do not point it out, but since I am obsessively paranoid with balance in my images I simply had to break those photos apart and make one image out of them. In the shot in which she is fixing her hair with a hand, I am bothered by the position of the thumb and slightly strong gesture of the hand. The palm is facing too boldly towards the camera and I think it ruins the delicate and vulnerable pose. The other photo is beautiful, but after adding cascading hair over her hand, I created balance for the sparkling backlit leaves to the top right corner of the photo. Now it creates a bow or curve of light, engulfing the model. It also creates an anchor point for the eyes to the left side of the image, which is crucial, because we are used to look from left to right. That being said, the negative space to the right makes perfect sense and provides sensible pillar that the right side of the image rests on. Got to love photoshop!

My Youtube channel with free photoshop tutorials
Photography workshops in Tokyo - click for more details.
Hire a photographer in Tokyo
Buy original Chinese and Japanese calligraphy art
Check out my new portrait photography services in Tokyo website!